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Thursday, May 4, 2017

3,900 Nigerian children killed in armed conflict violations - UN

An estimated 3,900 children were killed and 7,300 others maimed
as a result of Boko Haram’s insurgency in the North-East Nigeria, says the
United Nations (UN), reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations, Virginia Gamba disclosed
this in the report on “Nigeria: First Report on Children and Armed Conflict
Details Violations Suffered by Children as a Result of Boko Haram’s Insurgency
and Ensuing Conflict.”

According to Gamba, this figure stems from suicide attacks which
became the second leading cause of child casualties, accounting for over one
thousand deaths and 2,100 injuries during the reporting period.

The Secretary-General’s report strongly condemns grave
violations against children committed by Boko Haram and urges the group to
cease all such violations immediately.

Also, the report showed that boys and girls in north-east
Nigeria continued to be brutalized as a result of Boko Haram’s insurgency in
the region and the ensuing conflict.

This, NaijaAgroNet gathered was the conclusion of the first
“Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Nigeria” which
documented the impact on children of the severe deterioration of the security
and humanitarian situation in the country between January 2013 and December
2016.

“With tactics including widespread recruitment and use,
abductions, sexual violence, attacks on schools and the increasing use of
children in so-called “suicide” attacks, Boko Haram has inflicted unspeakable
horror upon the children of Nigeria’s north-east and neighbouring countries,“
declared Gamba.

The Special Representative commends the Government of
Nigeria for the measures already adopted and their collaboration with the UN to
improve the protection of children. She calls upon the authorities to ensure
that all boys and girls are provided with the necessary support and services to
facilitate their reintegration into their communities.